Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (2024)

Overview

Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen appear together for the first time in the epic, star-studded story of the birth of modern China, recounting the rise and victory of Mao Zedong’s Communist Party over Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist forces in the Chinese civil war. Officially sanctioned it may be, but Huang Jianxin and Han Sanping’s film is much more than mere propaganda; a rousing yet sophisticated spectacle that reaffirms China’s complex relationship with its own 20th-century history.

Commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, the film’s staggering cast – a veritable who’s who of every major figure in Chinese cinema - even stretches to include onscreen appearances by directors Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, Jiang Wen and John Woo.

Director

Han Sanping , Huang Jianxin , Chen Kaige , Peter Chan Ho-sun , Feng Xiaogang and Du Jun

Featuring

Tang Guoqiang , Zhang Guoli , Shi Xin and Zhang Ziyi

Genres

Historical drama

Certificate

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (1)Contains infrequent moderate violence and injury detail

Country

People's Republic of China

Language

No Dialogue with English subtitles

Historical drama

View more

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (2)

Rent for £4.50

Shoshana Shoshana

Historical drama 2023 121 mins Director: Michael Winterbottom

A young Jewish woman’s relationship with a British policeman stationed in British Mandatory Palestine has lasting consequences for the region in Michael Winterbottom's powerful thriller.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (3)

Rent for £4.50

The Iron Claw The Iron Claw

Biopic 2023 132 mins Director: Sean Durkin

Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson and Jeremy Allen White lead this brilliant, bruising true story of wrestling glory and family tragedy.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (4)

Rent for £3.50

Corsage Corsage

Biopic 2022 114 mins Director: Marie Kreutzer

Sisi the Empress (Vicky Krieps) gets an irreverent make-over in Austrian director Marie Kreutzer’s exhilarating BAFTA-nominated period drama, winner of Best Film at BFI London Film Festival 2022.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (5)

Rent for £3.50

Malcolm X Malcolm X

Biopic 1992 202 mins Director: Spike Lee

Denzel Washington takes the lead in one of the great screen biopics, directed by Spike Lee.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (6)

Rent for £3.50

Lizzie Lizzie

Crime 2018 105 mins Director: Craig Macneill

Chloë Sevigny and Kristen Stewart captivate in this bodice-ripping retelling of the strange and fascinating case of Lizzie Borden.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (7)

Rent for £3.50

Scandal Scandal

Historical drama 1989 114 mins Director: Michael Caton-Jones

A fictionalised account of the 1963 ‘Profumo Affair’ that rocked the government of British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Starring John Hurt, Joanne Whalley, Bridget Fonda, Ian McKellen and Leslie Phillips.

New Chinese Cinema

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (8)

Rent for £2.50

The Banquet The Banquet

2006 125 mins Director: Feng Xiaogang

Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) stars is this lavish wuxia based on elements from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Ibsen’s Ghosts.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (9)

Rent for £2.50

Assembly Assembly

War 2007 119 mins Director: Feng Xiaogang

Following a brutal battle, a Chinese army captain wakes from a coma to discover his discredited regiment has been airbrushed from history, and sets out to restore his soldiers’ honour.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (10)

Currently unavailable

A Touch of Sin A Touch of Sin

Crime 2013 125 mins Director: Jia Zhangke

Jia Zhangke’s state-of-the-nation report on contemporary China is comprised of four stories about shocking acts of violence.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (11)

Rent for £2.50

Aftershock Aftershock

Drama 2010 130 mins Director: Feng Xiaogang

China’s blockbuster director Feng Xiaogang scored his biggest box office hit with this staggering disaster film about a massive earthquake and its aftermath.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (12)

Rent for £3.50

Speechless Speechless

Drama 2012 93 mins Director: Simon Chung

A mysterious, exotic and riveting drama about a nameless man discovered naked on a riverbank, who forms a bond with the hospital assistant who can communicate with him.

Featuring Zhang Guoli

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (13)

Rent for £3.50

Back to 1942 Back to 1942

Drama 2012 146 mins Silent Director: Feng Xiaogang

With a cast that includes Adrien Brody, Tim Robbins and Fan Xu, Back to 1942 is an epic reconstruction of the deadly drought of 1942 that took its toll on central China's Henan province during the war against Japan

New

View more

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (14)

Rent for £10.00

Copa 71 Copa 71

Documentary 2023 90 mins Director: Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine

Buried for 50 years, this is the untold story of the 1971 Women’s World Cup – a tremendous, televised rollercoaster ride and a historic moment in football.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (15)

Rent for £4.50

Mysterious Ways Mysterious Ways

Drama 2023 90 mins Director: Paul Oremland

Paul Oremland’s impassioned drama is a searing critique of the church’s attitude towards the LGBTQI+ community.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (16)

Rent for £10.00

Nezouh Nezouh

Drama 2024 104 mins Director: Soudade Kaadan

Enchanting feminist coming-of-age drama, from award winning Syrian director Soudade Kaadan.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (17)

Rent for £4.50

Io Capitano Io Capitano

Drama 2022 122 mins Director: Matteo Garrone

In this epic drama from the director of Gomorrah, two Senegalese teenagers attempt to travel across land and sea to Europe.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (18)

Rent for £10.00

Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry

Drama 2023 110 mins Director: Elene Naveriani

A fiercely independent woman’s tranquillity is disturbed by an unexpected affair, in this wry, tender and understated drama from Georgia.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (19)

Rent for £4.50

The Taste of Things The Taste of Things

Drama 2023 135 mins Director: Trân Anh Hûng

Tran Anh Hùng directs Juliette Binoche in this delicious culinary romance that leaves no crumbs. Winner of the best director award at Cannes.

Watch The Founding of a Republic - BFI Player (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Fredrick Kertzmann

Last Updated:

Views: 5521

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (66 voted)

Reviews: 81% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Fredrick Kertzmann

Birthday: 2000-04-29

Address: Apt. 203 613 Huels Gateway, Ralphtown, LA 40204

Phone: +2135150832870

Job: Regional Design Producer

Hobby: Nordic skating, Lacemaking, Mountain biking, Rowing, Gardening, Water sports, role-playing games

Introduction: My name is Fredrick Kertzmann, I am a gleaming, encouraging, inexpensive, thankful, tender, quaint, precious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.